An Effective Guide to Parenting Teens
There is only one thing harder than undergoing the pressure of being a teenager- it is parenting one of your own. The raging hormones, the infamous peer pressure, struggling for independence, searching for an identity, deciding on how much autonomy to grant, how much attitude to tolerate, these are only few of the things that you would think of while parenting teens. And trust me, the list goes on.
Parenting teens is probably the ultimate parenting test you will ever have. This is where everything is at its wits end. All you will ever need is an ounce of courage, tons of patience, and a good old heave of parental creativity. However, on top of these values is a reminder that no parent is perfect because there are no perfect children as well.
Adolescence is said to be a child's path to adulthood. It is a phase which is more of like a journey. However, if adolescence is considered a journey, parenting teens in itself is also a journey. Success is conquered by challenges, while failure and mistakes are in its part inevitable. Just like in any adventure, the excitement is on the journey - how to get there. No one will know if it had been a success or a failure until the journey is completed. But as long as the journey carries on, all you'll ever have is hope. Hope to turn your weakness into strengths and a chance to make failure a success.
However, you have to remember that each journey is different and unique per traveler. Since each journey is inimitable, there is no way for you to anticipate challenges and calculate the right path. But just like any journey, there are generalities and commonalities that seem to be universal and would apply to parenting teens as well.
Predominantly, a strong foundation would be openness and a solid relationship with your teens. Demonstrate respect to earn respect. Try to be involved to have your teen think that you are interested in his or her activities. This is the time when your child will most likely vulnerable to swerve, so you have to set boundaries firmly, either directly on indirectly.
It is important to instill discipline while parenting teens, you may not like it but sometimes you have to be tough. Motivate them internally, praise them when they have done something nice and tell them otherwise if they've done wrong. Build their self-esteem and always make them feel accepted and loved, otherwise they'll get it somewhere else.
